PHOTO COMPARISON OF TEN LARGE LUXURY SEDANS

To the human eye, shape trumps detail more often than not. The grandeur of a palace will grab your attention even if the colour of its bricks are not to your liking. The silhouette of a woman's body is most likely going to stop a man in his tracks despite the fact that her eyes are too close together and her nose is too wide. A thick t-bone steak cut by the best butcher in Texas will have you salivating.... right up until you see that it's 45% fat.

Likewise, the profile of a beautful new car, particularly as it passes you at high speed, will hold you spellbound. Maybe you hate twin-kidney grilles or bulbous fenders or angular taillights or oversized wheels, but the initial moment in which you spotted the shape of the vehicle will forever remain etched on your automotive conscience.

Yet automobiles basically come in only a handful of shapes. You have 1-box minivans, 2-box hatchbacks and wagons, 3-box sedans, wedge-like supercars and mid-engine roadsters, and back-on-its-haunches rear-wheel drive performance cars. Or, to be more specific, almost every vehicle's shape could fall under the heading of: Dodge Grand Caravan, Volvo V70, Honda Accord, Lamborghini Gallardo, and Ford Mustang. Agreeing with that analysis doesn't mean you don't see differences - huge differences - between a Chevrolet Corvette and a Nissan 370Z. In fact, if anything, agreeing with that analysis only praises the talent of automotive designers who continue to work with the consistent limitations presented by four wheels, a powerplant, a cabin, and cargo space.

Now look at one vehicle segment, expanded slightly for the purposes of this article, for evidence of designer talent when styling large, high-end 3-box sedans. Because the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide are actually hatchbacks and thus strikingly different in overall shape, they're not appearing in pictures after the jump. But ten other big sedans, including a concept and a heavy-duty whippersnapper from Korea, are shown, all with emphasis on profile. We'll all have unique guttural reactions to certain cars while finding others forgettable and some downright offensive. Deep down, these cars are rivals. However, they're seen competing in a high-dollar arena where personal design preference holds far more weight than financing deals or brake horsepower figures. Click through the jump to decide for yourself.

Audi A8

Bentley Continental Flying Spur

BMW 7-Series

Cadillac Sixteen

Hyundai Equus

Jaguar XJ

Lexus LS

Maserati Quattroporte

Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Rolls-Royce Ghost

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net

Large Luxury Car Sales Stats

2011 Audi A8 Gallery

Low Volume Automaker Sales In The USA - June 2010

Top 10 Most Expensive Sedans In The World

FERRARI, ROLLS-ROYCE & ASTON MARTIN ARE ALL MANUFACTURERS OF SMALL CARS?

In a fight to be seen as both eco-conscious and economically aware, automakers which traditionally sell cars priced in the stratosphere are bringing their badges down to our level.

Aston Martin will be applying its grimacing grille to the front end of the Toyota iQ. They'll call it the Aston Martin Cygnet; they'll lux it up a fair bit; and they'll double the price.

Ferrari, meanwhile, will stick its badges on the 695 Tributo Ferrari, a hopped-up version of the Fiat 500. At least the Fiat 500 695 Tributo Ferrari will be significantly quicker than the regular 500, something that can't be said of the Cygnet.

Finally we have Rolls-Royce. The manufacturer of Phantoms and Drophead Coupes will soon be known as a custom outfitter of Mini Coopers. Mini Rolls will supposedly look just like regular Minis but inside - oh yes, inside - Rolls will have its way with high-end materials. Perhaps an umbrellla in the door, too?

Obviously the connection between Fiat and Ferrari is obvious. Fiat owns 85% of the autonomously-run supercar producer. Mini and Rolls-Royce are both owned by Germany-based BMW. But the Aston Martin/Toyota relationship is a curious one. Regardless, all three of the high-dollar brands will be endlessly criticized for degrading their brand values.

If part of what makes the Ferrari 458 Italia so special is its exclusivity, doesn't a commonplace Fiat 500 Tributo lessen that joy?

Consider the outrageous prices Rolls-Royce clients justify as a result of uncommon leather-lined seating and permanently upright wheelhub badges. Do you really want to pay so much more for the privilege when Mini customers receive some of the same treatments?

Meanwhile Aston Martin isn't simply badging Toyota iQs with logos from Gaydon. No, Aston is changing the whole look of the car. So the same company which builds the V8 Vantage, DB9, Rapide, and DBS will sell city cars?

However, there will be an unseemly amount of short term gain. Why else would Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, and Aston Martin participate in such a scheme? Businesses are on this planet to generate profits. Peering through the long-term tunnel to see the negative impacts come 2016 is not an easy procedure. In terms of these increasingly common small car ventures, it's a procedure to which certain supercar manufacturers are unwilling to submit.

ROLLS-ROYCE GHOST DEBUTS WITH 48 IMAGES AND SOME SPECS

As the most powerful car in the history of Rolls-Royce, the new 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost is bound to attract plenty of attention from the motoring press over the next few days. Smaller and less expensive than the awe-inspiring Phantom, the Ghost generates 563 horsepower by way of a 6.6L V12.

Rolls says the Ghost is designed with "Yacht Lines" in mind. The "elevated prow" is distinctly Rolls-Royce while the overall shape is very Phantom-like. This can't be surprising given BMW's nature to simply upsize the design of each of their own models. BMW, after all, is Rolls-Royce's German owner.

Inside the layout is much more BMW-like than the Phantom could ever be. Though it's doubtful that any visible parts are shared with the 7-Series Bimmer (photo comparo here), the less formal dashboard style could be off-putting to those who have the money to buy a Bentley Continental GT or even the new Bentley Mulsanne.

Don't kid yourself, the interior of this Rolls-Royce Ghost likely provides the kind of ambience only a handful of other cars can attain. And while we've known for a long time that BMW wanted Rolls-Royce to offer a smaller Rolls, its arrival is somehow discomforting. A lesser Rolls-Royce? Is that appropriate?

Appropriate will be one of many adjectives used to describe the financial statement of Rolls-Royce once the Ghost is rolling off the (slow-moving) assembly line in Goodwood. Compared with Toyota Camry sales which reach beyond 400,000 in the United States alone, the hundreds of Rolls-Royce Ghosts sold will seem like tiny drops in a small puddle. When sold at prices between €200,000-€300,000, however, the Ghost will be an earner on par with the Rolls-Royce Phantom that came before. Check out all 48 images of the new Rolls-Royce Ghost below before having a look-see at The Good Car Guy's own Phantom photo.

v

THE VEHICLES OF WAR - REMEMBRANCE DAY SPECIAL

While people head to memorial ceremonies today in their air-conditioned, leather-lined, MP3-playing, 268-bhp midsize sedans, The Good Car Guy thought some perspective was in order.

Less than three hours before a ceremony at the Grand Parade cenotaph not far from where I live, it dawned on me that, from GoodCarBadCar.net's angle, there was much that was different in the era of my grandfather. Feel as free as you like to remember the terrifying sounds; horrifying immigration stories; the hatred of Kristallnacht; and the wonders of D-Day. But the pictures in this post cause me to wonder, just a little bit, at what the rest of a soldier's time must've been like in the south Pacific or western Europe - if this is what they were forced to drive in. 

The Fox Armoured Car is above to the right. At the top, the Rolls-Royce Armoured Car. The Otter light reconnaissance vehicle and the Universal Carrier are below. Think of that the next time you slide behind the wheelof your 3-Series and head off for the law office. They fought for somethin'.

AUTO NEWS VIA QUOTES

"Mercedes-Benz is the taxicab of choice in Germany, which shows if you have the right products, being the airport car won't hurt you." Ford President of the Americas, Mark Fields, speaking to the fact that Lincoln could attain limo+cool status.

"America has never been more ready for a car like this." smart USA President, David Schembri, speaking at the delivery to one of smart's first American customers.

"I think Chrysler has cut a lot." United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger believes that new labour agreements should be enough to stave off more cutbacks at American automakers.

"...we know what we're doing when it comes to combining industry-leading safety with industry-leading value." John Krafcik, a Hyundai VP, after noting that Hyundai produces more IIHS Top Safety Picks than BMW, Mercedes-Benz, or Toyota.

"I feel more than happy with today." Former two-time F1 champ Fernando Alonso after his first day of testing back at Renault.

"We are in discussion with Tata Motors on dealers and distribution of these brands. We are looking at an interesting set up." Alfredo Altavilla, Vice-Chairman of Fiat India speaks of Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Ferrari being introduced in the world's second-largest nation.

"Everyone wants to pollute less; that's a no-brainer. What we've heard from our customers is if Bentley can be socially responsible that would be a positive.'' Bentley spokesman David Reuter figures the ultra-rich are about as socially conscious as the rest of us.

"Everybody at Rolls-Royce is delighted with this tremendous result which marks our fifth anniversary in the best possible way." Rolls-Royce's CEO, Ian Robertson, appears to ignore the multiplicity of decades prior to BMW's Rolls-Royce, but is happy with a worldwide sales increase of 25% and total Indian sales of eleven.

"We don't look at this as a car ad as much as we look at it as a statement." Scott Keogh, VP of Marketing at Audi, plays up the importance of Audi's Paramount Pictures-produced Super Bowl ad.